So far, my approach to working out has been mostly focused on bodyweight circuits and sandbag training.
There is no denying the effectiveness of these approaches for fitness, fat loss, and general strength development.
But what about the benefits of lifting HEAVY weights for minimal reps?
[Here in coastal California, the sky gets looks pretty amazing after a storm passes through. This was taken after a recent storm in Santa Monica. photo by gtall1]
Bodyweight Exercises are Great, BUT…
Bodyweight exercises can, of course be used to develop maximal strength – it’s hard to argue with the strength of someone who can do dead-hang one arm pullups or true one arm pushups. And as far as physique development, just look at any male olympic gymnast and you will see how ripped bodyweight exercises can get you.
But there’s one thing missing: lifting heavy things
It’s hard to get more ‘functional’ than practicing lifting heavy objects. This is something that we do every day, whether it’s picking up our child, lifting a bag of groceries, or moving furniture.
Training the deadlift helps make the body more injury proof during these activities, but there are many OTHER reasons to regularly practice this movement…
Why Lift Heavy?
Strength athletes, trainers, as well as ordinary people swear by the benefits that come from lifting HEAVY weights – gaining lean body mass, hormone activation, improved bone density, increased brain/muscle connection and activation, and just general strength improvement.
Interestingly, because of these benefits, one of the first thing professional trainers recommend to people looking to get big arms is to start training the deadlift!
I have been happily training with a 100 pound homemade sandbag for the past few months, and although it is great for grooving the lifting motion and developing strength, it does not create the same neuromuscular/hormonal response that lifting a much heavier weight would. A standard olympic weight set would allow me to lift MUCH more weight.
I would be happy training with just my sandbag, but I recently came up on some new equipment…
Score!
A friend of mine was moving and didn’t have any room for his old, rusty olympic weight set, so I got it for free!
[My set looks similar to this, except the weights are completely rusted, looking more like red Georgia mud than the shiny 'space age' silver you see here]
The deadlift was the first exercise that I thought about attacking with this new equipment.
The Deadlift – Bad For Your Back?
The deadlift gets a bad rap as an exercise that is bad for your back. But most people WHO ACTUALLY DEADLIFT will tell you that, when done properly, the deadlift is one of the BEST ways to make sure your back stays strong and healthy, not to mention the other benefits listed above.
I have hurt my back in the past, and didn’t want to do it again. Ideally, I would pay for an expert to coach me on technique. But since I’m broke, I went out and scoured the internet for some good deadlift tutorials.
So far, I have been hitting the deadlift a couple times per week, for the past few weeks, and my back has never felt better. My strength has increased – I feel strong enough to flip over a car! (probably an exaggeration, but you get the point…)
Learn From the Masters:
So here are a few videos from a couple world-renowned experts.
Here, legendary strength coach Mark Rippetoe demonstrates the proper deadlift setup for lifting a bar:
And just so you have another chance to absorb this stuff, here is another deadlift setup video with Mark Rippetoe:
Here is an excellent video with renowned physical therapist/trainer Gray Cook, explaining deadlift benefits and explaining some ‘functional’ deadlifting approaches using heavy kettlebells:
Cook’s background is physical therapy, and his explanation of technique is slightly different from Rippetoe, advocating a more “pure” hip motion that comes from keeping the shins vertical.
Rippetoe is a legendary powerlifting coach, and his setup (where the shins move forward from vertical slightly to meet the bar) is more geared towards getting the body into position to lift seriously heavy weights.
Deadlift Form Key Points
Here are some of the main points to keep you safe while you deadlift:
Set up with a narrow, ‘vertical jump’ stance, with your shins around 1″ away from the bar
Look straight ahead – keep you chest up
Keep back arched – DON’T LET YOUR LOWER BACK ROUND FORWARD
Grip the bar as hard as you can
Don’t pull with your arms, let your arms simply hang like straps
The bar should contact your shins and thighs on the way up
Push through your heels
If you can’t keep your back arched in the low position,
START WITH THE WEIGHT HIGHER UP
If you can’t keep your lower back flat/slightly arched when the weight is on the ground, (because of lack of flexibility, etc.), don’t compromise your back health, bring the weight up to you.
You can place some blocks below the weight, or if you have access to a squat rack, just set the pins at whatever height allows you to maintain a safe posture.
Pro trainers will often start their trainees off by deadlifting with the bar an inch or two above the knee. This allows perfect deadlift positioning without compromising the back’s stability. As months go by and strength and flexibility increase, the start position is gradually dropped, until the trainee is deadlifting from the floor.
As Gray Cook puts it, “range of motion is not as important as a flat back”
World Record Deadlift
If I feel like I could ‘flip a car’ with my measly 300 pound deadlift, imagine how this guy feels after he deadlifts 1009 pounds!
Have a great week,
-Ian
Other resources:
If your back injuries are preventing you from training the deadlift, check out my post on lower back pain exercises for some tips on recovery and prevention.
Rippetoe’s Book, “Starting Strength” is considered to be the gold standard in detailed powerlifting coaching instruction. It is available at many libraries.
So, I spent a couple weeks traveling up an down this great state of California, visiting friends and whatnot, and haven’t worked out hardly at all, outside of a few surf sessions.
[There are so many beautiful women in San Francisco. Here is one. Photo by sfmission.com]
The thruster is basically a front squat into a push press, as you can see above.
This is an outstanding total body exercise, combining a deep squat and an overhead press. Combining it with pullups would hit most of the major muscles in the body (more on that later).
Do this exercise as explosively as possible.
FORM POLICE – As you can see above, my tailbone ‘tucks’ under in the low position of the front squat. This is due to some lack of flexibility in my hips and ankles, and could potentially put my back at risk of getting injured under a load. Ideally, you want a completely neutral spine (i.e. flat back).
After seeing this photo, I have made it a point to work further on my squat flexibility by doing low squat holds as you can see below:
But, for the purposes of this particular workout, I saved wear and tear on my back by just not squatting as deep for the front squat portion of the thruster.
Exercise #2 – Towel Pullup
This exercise balances the overhead pushing movement of the thruster.
Simply roll up a towel, throw it over something strong, and pull up.
Exercise #3 – Burpees
Everyone knows how to do burpees. But in case you need a refresher, here is a burpee video courtesy of an ex-Soviet supermodel that could probably beat me up:
You COULD do them a little faster than her, but you probably wouldn’t look half as good!
Exercise #4 – Sandbag Bent Over Row
Simply grab folds of the sand bag and pull the bag to your chest.
This horizontal pulling motion complements the horizontal pushing action of burpees, balancing opposing muscle groups.
When done with standard equipment like dumbbells, this exercise targets the back and biceps, but by grabbing folds of the sandbag, it also develops your grip strength and endurance.
Reps & Sets
I did 4 circuits of these exercises. For the thrusters and pullups, I stopped 1 rep shy of failure. I then did 10 burpees and 10 bent over rows. The sandbag I am using here is between 95 and 100 lbs.
Ideally, there would be no rest between exercises, and around 45-60 seconds rest between circuits.
Another Option
I did a YouTube search for “thrusters workout” and found this awesome Cross Fit workout, called “Fran”. I definitely plan on attacking this with my sandbag and towel/rope setup:
It goes like this: 21-15-9 rep sets of thrusters alternated with pullups, for time. The standard weights are 95 lbs for men, 65 lbs for women.
Let me know what you think!
-Ian
Other Resources
Renegade Strength and Conditioning coach Zach Even-Esh develops wrestlers, MMA fighters, and ordinary Joes and Janes into absolute BEASTS by using sandbags, playground equipment, and simple objects like rocks. His Underground Strength Kit has loads of ideas on using simple equipment for explosive strength and fitness gains.
Here is an article from the CrossFit Journal comparing power requirements for total body conditioning moves like the thruster and kettlebell swing.
But don’t stress. All it takes is a little effort to heal or prevent injury.
Take a couple minutes to do these rotator cuff exercises – strengthen and protect your shoulder’s delicate rotator cuff muscles as part of your pre-workout warm up routine.
[Falling onto soft sand hurts a LOT less than falling onto concrete, and the view isn't so bad either. Here is an amazing sunset from Laguna Beach, CA. Photo by jamesbrandon ]
Rotator Cuff Injuries Have Many Causes
Years of baseball and surfing have made me prone to rotator cuff overuse injuries and shoulder impingement syndrome. To top it off, I also somehow keep finding ways to fall onto my bad shoulder.
Last January, I fell onto my right shoulder, mildly separating it for probably the 5th time! My shoulder hurt for about a week, and it took several months before I could do a normal pushup again.
Luckily for me, I soon found out about this great 2 minute shoulder rehab/warmup routine on YouTube:
I started doing these exercises before each workout as part of a warmup routine.
But since I don’t have an incline bench lying around my house, I just bent forward a bit as you can see here:
As it turns out, this position is also excellent for developing endurance in the lower back muscles, which studies have shown is a key element to preventing lower back pain and injury.
Laziness Leads To Injury!
At one point, I had an insight. I realized that my past shoulder injuries had ALL followed a pattern: I would get hurt, rest for a few days, and then be very diligent about doing these sorts of shoulder rehab exercises before every workout.
While I was keeping up with the exercises, I wouldn’t get hurt.
It was only when I got lazy and stopped warming up properly that I would injure my shoulder again.
So, from then on, I decided to these warm up exercises RELIGIOUSLY before each workout.
Also, since I couldn’t do a standard pushup without serious pain, I began working through the pre-pushup exercise progressions found in Convict Conditioning. Here is the first exercise, wall pushups, done for 3 sets of 50:
(Keep your elbows more toward your sides than this person. As easy as it looks, it took me a few weeks to get up to 3 sets of 50. Believe it or not, this is the first of ten exercises that progressively prepare you to do one arm push ups!)
The Result – No More Shoulder Pain!
So, 10 months after my shoulder separation and not being able to do a pushup without serious pain, my right shoulder is stronger than ever!
My shoulder now feels safe and pain-free, even while doing heavy overhead presses and handstand pushups.
So, learn from my mistakes. Warm up properly and keep your rotator cuff healthy!
Take care of yourself,
-Ian
Other Resources -
Here is an excellent injury-prevention post about shoulder and lower back endurance exercises for MMA fighters, some of the fittest athletes on earth.
My post here doesn’t even touch what could be some of the underlying muscular imbalances that can lead to shoulder injury, such as thoracic spine mobility and shoulder flexibility. Master physical therapists Gray Cook and Brett Jones have broken down all elements of shoulder pain’s causes, from improper breathing to lack of flexibility and endurance. I bought their DVD set, Secrets of the Shoulder, but haven’t gotten too deep into it yet.
Speaking of thoracic spine mobility, here is an excellent page that details how you can dramatically improve this ability with just a couple simple moves.
The triceps, the often ignored counterpart to the famous biceps muscle, is easy to target with bodyweight exercises. Here are a few options:
[This photo has nothing to do with triceps exercises, but the sunsets have been so RIDICULOUS around here this first part of fall, I thought I would share this shot with you, from just down the road in Morro Bay. Photo by mikebaird]
When most people think of bodyweight triceps exercises, the one thing that comes to mind is diamond pushups:
This is a great exercise, but there are more options.
Another one of my favorites is the “skull-crusher”:
But, with just a towel and the adjustable loop from your DIY Suspension Trainer (basically just get some rope and tie a bowline in one end), you can do a few more variations that will not only tax your triceps, but your grip as well.
Overhead Triceps Press
Take your adjustable loop, throw it over a sturdy beam or branch, and tie it off at around rib height. Next, roll up your towel and thread it through as shown. And then…
Grip.
Press!
It’s pretty simple, as you can see, but this exercise really hits the triceps.
Triceps Pushdown with Assist
This next exercise is a little more difficult (just make sure to use your legs as little as possible for maximum effect on the triceps).
Grip the towel, with your weight resting on the balls of your feet, with your knees slightly off the ground.
Press down using your legs to assist as necessary.
Try to get your arms to full extension (unlike me here in this photo!)
This exercise is surprisingly hard, as you are essentially doing a triceps press with your bodyweight!
The sledgehammer – a simple and brutally effective tool of destruction, if there ever was one!
Just think of the sledgehammer’s medieval battlefield counterpart, the bludgeon. Merely saying “bludgeon” brings to mind gruesome scenes of peasant-on-peasant footsoldier warfare, while noble knights daintily fought on horseback.
[That sledgehammer also might come in handy when you have to bludgeon down a castle wall to save this princess.]
Ok, enough of the medieval war imagery for now. (I just saw Robin Hood. It was pretty good). Back to our sledgehammer workout.
If you have ever had to manually break up and get rid of a large concrete slab, you already know how repeatedly swinging a sledgehammer will tax EVERY muscle in your body. From grip, arms, core, legs, to feet, everything is involved.
[Want to get ripped arms like this dude? Swing that sledgehammer! Photo by Editor B]
This makes the sledgehammer an ideal tool for total body conditioning. But before you start bashing apart your back patio, let’s cover some details.
Step 1 – Get a Tire
Since I don’t want you to go out and start destroying your neighbors’ driveways and patios, you will need something else to swing that sledgehammer into. A tire works really well.
You might see videos of people hitting massive tractor tires. That’s great if you can get ahold of one and have the space to store it. But there’s no need, really. I have found that a simple truck tire works great.
Go to your local tire store and ask to check out their used tire area. Find a solid looking tire, and throw it in your car. The price should be right around free-ninety-nine, plus tax.
Step 2 – Get a Sledgehammer
Since you will be hitting a rubber tire instead of a concrete slab, the hammer’s handle is much less likely to break.
But with that said, for maximum safety and durability, get a new, fiberglass handled sledgehammer like a Ludell, available at Home Depot.
Head weight should be anywhere between 8 to 20 pounds, depending on what kind of shape you are in. (Go lighter if you are just starting out).
Step 3 – Swing Away!
Just like with any exercise tool, there are nearly infinite variations to sledgehammer workouts. Here a couple that I like:
Here is Ross Enamait, one of my fitness heroes, demonstrating a Tabata (20 seconds of work/10 seconds of rest, repeated 8 times) sledgehammer workout:
Here is another video showing a montage of MMA legend Fedor Emilanenko’s workout routine, including swinging a heavy sledgehammer into a huge tire.
Quick Sandbag and Sledgehammer Workout
And finally, here is a workout I came up with, continuing with the theme of moving heavy objects with simple, compound movements:
30 sledgehammer swings into tire, switching grip after 15 reps
Rest for 1 minute
Repeat 4 or 5 times.
Feel free to alter the repetitions, rest intervals, and total sets as you see fit.
I like this circuit because it alternates an explosive hip extension/pushing movement (clean and press) with a violent hip flexion/pulling motion (sledgehammer swing). Plus it’s fun.
[WWJSD? If you have seen The Transporter, you know the answer to this question... Photo by tibchris]
From classics like Snatch to The Expendables,Jason Statham is the man.
You know why? The man lives his life. When it’s time to enjoy a few weeks of good food, good beer, and good friends, he just does it. Calories and weight gain be damned.
“I never gave a f–k about a calorie,” Statham says.
Once I was on a surfing trip, and some B-grade actor that happened to be around turned down a beer because he was “on a diet.”
WWJSD? He wouldn’t do that. That’s for sure.
Don’t be that guy who turns down a beer from friends because he is worried about getting fat. Man up and have a few with the boys. Unless, of course, you are getting ready to be do something like this:
Here’s what is so great: One month you will be in the checkout line at the supermarket and see Statham on the cover of US magazine, along with some other bloated celebrity, with a caption like “Jason Statham – FAT!”
Then, a month and a half later, he’s lost nearly 20 pounds and is taking care of business:
So, what’s his secret? Here are the workout and diet strategies that allowed Jason Statham to lose nearly 20 pounds in 6 weeks.
WWJSD – 30 minute Jason Statham Workout
Statham’s workouts are right around 30 minutes long and follow two rules:
Never do the same workout twice.
Record the details of each workout.
By never repeating the same workout twice, his body is continuously adapting and never has a chance to reach a plateau. Since all details of each workout are recorded (weights/reps lifted, sprint distances/times, etc.) future workouts can be scaled for maximum benefit.
Warmup – 10 minutes
Statham spends 10 minutes warming up on a rowing machine, which gets blood pumping to all major muscle groups.
If you are poor like me and don’t have access to a rowing machine, try warming up by alternating small sets of bodyweight squats with easier body rows, using your DIY suspension trainer.
Moderate Intensity – 10 minutes
Next, Statham will do one of the following options, depending on the day:
Heavy compound lifts at around 75% of his one rep max for 5 or less reps: deadlift, squat, power clean, bench press, etc. (poor man’s option: heavy sandbag clean and press)
Brief circuits using light weights (bodyweight exercise circuits would work well here)
Kettlebell exercise circuit (poor man’s no-hype option: buy a cheap used adjustable dumbell and wrap a bunch of tape around the handle – same difference – then do some swings, snatches, and get-ups – check youtube for details)
Medicine ball throws (drop some weight out of your sandbag for this one)
High Intensity Intervals – 10 minutes
Statham uses circuits of conditioning exercises like burpees, rope climbs, and farmer’s walks along with sprints and more plyometric moves like medicine ball slams.
Again, he mixes it up for each workout.
Here is one interpretation of a Jason Statham / Expendables High Intensity Interval sprint ladder workout, by Jeff Cavaliere of AthleanX, an excellent 90 day body transformation program:
On the 6th day, he will do an hour-long trail run.
What About Jason Statham’s Diet?
As we all know, all the working out in the world won’t help if you are supersizing every meal at McDonalds. If your diet is crappy, your results will be crappy as well. Here are some of the diet tips that allowed Statham to lose nearly 20 pounds in 6 weeks:
Don’t eat the white stuff: sugar and flour are out!
Avoid drinking calories – that means (for this intense weight loss period) no fruit juice and no booze! (if your friends give you a hard time, give them each a roundhouse kick to the chin!)
Drink around 1.5 gallons of water per day
Record EVERYTHING eaten or drank, including water
Eat 6 small meals a day, for a total of 2000 calories
To be honest, I am really fired up about adapting some of these workout strategies for my own use. The 10min/10min/10min split seems like a great way to accomplish both general conditioning and strength training in minimal time.
Let me know how it goes for you!
-Ian
[For an excellent, step-by-step guide to getting an A-list Hollywood body like Jason Statham, check out renowned fitness trainer Rusty Moore's new lean muscle program, Visual Impact]
(To read the source article, visit the Men’s Health Website here)
It’s summertime… School is out, the sky is blue, the grass is green, the sweet scent of barbecues and sunscreen fills the air, and the girls are out in bikinis.
When things are this great outside, why the heck would you want to be locked up in a sweaty gym?
[Here is something you will never find in a gym, a real mermaid! Photo by Alaskan Dude.]
And is there any reason to even go to a gym, in the first place?
Over 100 years ago, French physical educator/sailor Georges Hébert was impressed by the physical abilities of indigenous people that he encountered during his travels around the world. These were people who had NEVER set foot in a gym, or even consciously “exercised”, for that matter.
He said,
“Their bodies were splendid, flexible, nimble, skilful, enduring, resistant and yet they had no other tutor in Gymnastics but their lives in Nature.”
Hébert went on to develop an entire physical education curriculum called Methode Naturelle, aimed at systematically developing these qualities in the modern, city-bound human. (Here is a link to a partial translation of his textbook, Practical Guide of Physical Education)
Here is Erwan Le Corre, the founder of Methode Naturalle‘s modern adaptation, MovNat, enjoying a typical workout:
Looks pretty fun, right?
Erwan has developed a complete system (including specialized training environments) to take a modern “Zoo Person”, out of touch from their natural physical abilities, and make them completely confident interacting with their environment in this way.
But with that said, here are the basics:
As Hébert says in his book,
“A (Natural Method) session is composed of exercises belonging to the ten fundamental groups: walking, running, jumping, quadrupedal movement, climbing, equilibrium (balancing), throwing, lifting, defending and swimming.
A training session consists, then, of exercises in an outdoor environment – a course of greater or lesser distance (a few hundred meters to several kilometers), during which, one walks, one runs, one jumps, one progresses quadrupedally, one climbs, one walks in unstable balance, one raises and one carries, one throws, one fights and one swims.”
[Here is your new gym, a beach in Cinque Terre, Italy. Photo by gtall1]
I tried my own adaptation a few days ago. I simply ran around my house, hopping up and down a fence, jumping and climbing over rocks, trying all sorts of pullup, pushup, and crawling variations. I also did work with a 90 pound sandbag, doing some cleans and carries for time.
In about 20 minutes I was pretty beat!
It would be great to add in some shadow boxing/sparring and swimming to cover all the “10 Fundamental Groups.”
If I had the time and money, I would definitely be interested in checking out some of Erwan’s courses. But in the mean time, workouts like this are pretty fun!
More Info
Here are some more links to pages about MovNat and Methode Naturelle:
The glute ham raise is one of the best exercises for developing the posterior chain muscles (lower back, hips, glutes/butt, hamstrings and calves) that are SO important for athletic performance.
[This photo doesn't have much to do with glute ham raises, but hey, it's summertime. It's always nice to see a pretty girl walking on the beach. Photo by gtall1]
Why Glute Ham Raises?
Many athletes are what is called “quad dominant,” meaning that their glutes and hamstrings are too weak and inactivated to contribute their full share of strength to movements like sprinting and jumping. (Here is an excellent post on glute activation drills). As a result, the smaller, weaker quads are forced to take over.
Performance
No muscles are more important to running and jumping than the glutes and hamstrings. Some experts (such as Olympic trainer Charles Poliquin) estimate that for sprinting and jumping, 40% of the power comes from the glutes, and another 25% comes from the hamstrings.
The glute ham raise (GHR) directly targets these muscles together with the important spinal erectors. Unlike the common hamstring curl and back extension, this exercise works the hamstrings from both ends – extension at the hip and knee.
Training with this exercise has been shown to dramatically improve speed. The NFL’s Adam Archuleta went from running a 4.85 sec to a 4.39 sec 40 yard dash in part by incorporating GHRs as part of his training program while in college.
For me, I have noticed a dramatic improvement in my sprinting speed since I started doing the GHR. Now I often feel like I am smoothly gliding along, my feet “clawing” at the ground like a cheetah!
[It sure does feel good to run fast... Just ask this cheetah. Photo by bontempscharly]
Injury Prevention
Experts often notice that athletes who are weak in the lower back, glutes, and hamstrings are vulnerable to lower back and knee injuries, especially to the ACL. Using the GHR dramatically increases strength and activation in these important posterior chain muscles, protecting the knee and lower back from injury. In fact, some college athletic programs who started training their athletes with the GHR have seen a 50% decrease in these sorts of injuries.
Ok, I’m Convinced. So How Much is it for a Glute Ham Machine?
Well, a new glute ham raise machine will run you over $500! But don’t worry, you have options:
Improvised GHR Setups
Lat Pull Down Machine
For those who have access, here is a new use for that lat pull down machine that’s collecting dust:
Using a Car
Here is my personal favorite: hook your feet under a car and use a pad for your knees. Ideally your knees and ankles should be at the same level. Mine aren’t here, but you get the idea. I am using a thick, rolled up yoga mat as a pad.
Start, slowly lowering while strongly flexing your glutes and hamstrings to slow yourself against gravity.
Even if you are merely controlling your fall at this point, continue to flex your glutes and hamstrings while keeping your body as straight as possible.
As your hands reach the ground, continue to flex your glutes and hamstrings as your arms provide whatever assistance you need.
Here is the bottom of the descent. Still flex those glutes and hamstrings!
Give yourself a slight boost with your arms, if necessary, and continue to keep your glutes and hamstrings activated to pull yourself up.
Here I have started to bend at the waist. My glutes, hamstrings, and lower back have lost some tension due to being weak! Don’t do this. Try to keep your body as straight as possible.
Back to the start. Repeat as you like.
A Couple Tips
This is a tough exercise. Don’t train to failure when you are just starting out. I have found that doing a couple sets, 2-3 reps short of failure, 2-3 times per week, has helped my glutes and hamstrings get MUCH stronger without getting too sore at any given point.
While being quad dominant can be a problem for performance and injuries, so can being hamstring dominant. Here is a great article from Elite Lifts on how to prevent hamstring pulls and improve performance by fully activating the glutes.
What is it about abs? How many billions of dollars have been spent in pursuit of “washboard”, “chiseled”, or “six pack” abs?
It seems like every week there is some new gimmick that makes ridiculous claims like, “Get Six Pack Abs in just 30 Seconds a Day While You Watch TV!”, or “Mind over matter! Visualize Your Way to Six Pack Abs!”
And if you don’t fall for one of many such schemes, maybe you’ll find yourself cranking out hundreds of crunches or situps per day, hoping that these exercises will magically grow you a six pack. They won’t.
[Mark Pfeltz set the 1986 Guinness Book Of World Records for sit ups, completing 45,005 in 58.5hrs. A valiant effort, but still no six pack...]
Believe it or not, there is no need for fancy gadgets or hours of boring crunches and situps. There is definitely a LOT of value to directly training the abs, and we will get into specific exercises in a moment. BUT, if you have a bit of flab on your belly, all the stomach exercises in the world won’t give you a six pack!
The Myth of Spot Reduction
There is no stomach exercise that, in itself, will reduce belly fat. Fat loss occurs when your body burns more energy than it consumes. This leads us to our first step:
Step 1: Eat Less!
If you want to lose that belly fat, you will need to eat less. It’s that simple.
Now, I’m not suggesting that you suddenly cut your calories in half or starve yourself for long periods. Some people have had a lot of success with intermittent fasting, but I don’t like being on an empty stomach for more than a few hours at a time.
[Here I am, a little hungry after 5 hours on an empty stomach! Image by tambako]
Instead of torturing myself with hours and hours of fasting, I simply try to pay attention to how full I am while eating, and stop my meal while I am still slightly hungry.
Here is a good rule of thumb:
If you stop eating when you are full, you will gain weight.
If you stop eating when you are just satisfied, you will maintain your weight.
If you leave the table when you are still a little bit hungry, you will lose weight.
This is a simplification, of course. Volumes have been written on WHAT to eat for maximum fat loss. But let’s just keep it simple for now: Eat less than you do usually.
Timing is Everything
People like fat loss expert Tom Venuto have gone into great detail on the benefits of nutrition microcycles. Basically, this approach describes how you can lose fat while maintaining or gaining muscle by changing your calorie consumption throughout each day and week.
Along these lines, what I have found to be extremely useful is meal timing. Basically, I try to eat a little less throughout the day while I am not active. On top of that, I try to go into my workouts in a fasted state, not having eaten for at least 4 hours. I save my larger meal for around an hour after my workout, when my body is begging for some nourishment.
By working out in a fasted state, your metabolism burns body fat instead of food.
But Won’t I Lose Muscle Mass?
Some experts have said that working out in a fasted state will make you lose muscle mass. This might be the case for some people, by in my experience, as long as I am doing a few sessions of resistance training per week, I don’t lose lean body mass. But I DO lose fat. Try it out for yourself.
And this brings us to our next step:
Step 2: Burn Fat with a HIIT/Cardio Workout Mix
High intensity interval training (HIIT) is a sort of catch-all phrase for performing periods of intense effort followed by brief rests, again and again.
(As with any change in exercise habits, you should always consult your physician before beginning any new workout routine.)
To burn that stomach fat and reveal the six pack abs that lie beneath, we will target our HIIT intervals for maximum release of fat-burning Human Growth Hormone (HGH). Don’t worry, you won’t be injecting anything!
Pushing yourself at a pace that you can’t maintain for longer than 30-60 seconds releases HGH into your blood. Your face gets flushed, your lungs open up, and you breathe heavily. HGH causes fat stores to release into your bloodstream, where they are eventually burned by steady state cardio exercise and your elevated post-workout metabolism.
HIIT/Cardio Routine:
3 days a week do HIIT for 15-20 minutes followed by 30 minutes of (target heart rate) steady state cardio.
On the days between your HIIT workouts (2 or 3 times per week), do 30-45 minutes of moderate steady-state cardio.
For HIIT, don’t push it too hard at first, especially if you are not in the best shape to begin with. For starters, try a ratio of 1:2, that means 1 minute of intense activity (jump rope sprinting, sprinting, exercise bike, treadmill, etc.) followed by around 2 minutes of active rest (walking, lightly jumping rope, etc.). And if that is too difficult, increase your rest times. You will get into better shape slowly.
If you are pretty fit already, try a 1:1 ratio and work your way towards shorter rest periods.
Variety
I recommend changing up the timing of your intervals every month or so, to keep your body guessing. Try a 1:2 sprint/walk ratio for more explosive sprinting speed, or try a 2:1 ratio for more of a fat burning focus.
I like to switch up my exercises as well. One day I might jump rope, another I might run on a track. Another day I might do HIIT on an exercise bike. I might even bite the bullet and join a local pool to do some swimming intervals (intense!)
Switching things up regularly will help you to avoid overuse injuries like shin splints and knee problems.
Step 3: Ab Exercises!
And now, here is the one piece of equipment you ABSOLUTELY MUSTHAVE if you are serious about getting six pack abs:
[Hahaha. Got ya!]
Eating right and working out to burning fat are the lion’s share of what needs to happen for you to have a six pack. However, it is definitely still important to do some exercises that directly target the abdominal muscles.
Why? First of all, having a strong core will prevent injuries to the lower back. And as for your quest to become Joe or Jane Six Pack, these exercises will tone and strengthen all of your major abdominal muscles without the risk of harm to your spine that can come from crunches and situps.
Incorporate the following exercises into your resistance training workouts a couple times per week:
Plank
This exercise is excellent for training the outer and inner abdominal muscles and developing core stability.
Also, the plank helps train your body to keep your abs flexed without having to bend your spine forward. This way, you don’t have to crunch forward to show off your abs to that pretty girl walking by on the beach! You will have a six pack all day long.
Work up to holding for 2 minutes. If 2 minutes is easy, try placing your arms (slightly more difficult) or feet (much more difficult) onto a stability ball.
Side Plank
This variation develops excellent lower back / oblique / abdominal stability, helping prevent lower back injuries while defining the love-handle / oblique area.
Work up to 2 minutes on each side.
Abdominal Vacuum Exercise
This exercise trains the transverse abdominus (TA), the deepest abdominal muscles which help to stabilize the spine. The TA, when activated, tightens the thoracolumbar fascia (TF), the band of connective tissue that envelops the lower back muscles. The TF acts as a sort of stabilizing weight belt, supporting and preventing serious injury to the spine while lifting.
Studies have shown that people who have trouble activating the TA often tend to injure their back while lifting things. So learn this exercise. You will prevent injury, be able to lift more and decrease lower back pain.
And, to top it off, doing the abdominal vacuum (and you can do it anywhere, waiting in line at the store, at a stoplight, etc.) will shrink your waist! Here are some tips:
Start by lying on the floor, feeling your ability to contract this muscle against the spine. (as shown in the video above)
Once you have a good feel for this, practice while sitting and standing.
Gradually hold the stomach vacuum for longer and longer.
Reduce your waistline by not overfilling your stomach when eating.
In Summary
3 Steps to Six Pack Abs:
Eat less.
Do HIIT/Cardio workouts as described above to burn fat. Also include resistance training so that you don’t lose muscle mass.
Do planks, side planks, and abdominal vacuum exercises to tighten up your abdominal muscles and prevent injury.
Good luck with your six pack!
Recommended Link:
For a detailed, no-BS approach to getting lean and ripped, WITHOUT gimmicks or supplements, check out Tom Venuto’s Holy Grail Fat Loss system. Tom, a world-renowned fitness model and nutrition expert, shares his strategies to cut fat without losing muscle. I personally have purchased this book and have been extremely impressed with the results I have achieved while using the strategies it describes.
Have you ever thrown your back out? You bend over to tie your shoes, and BAM! Your back seizes up and you can’t move without pain. I can definitely relate.
[As pretty as it might look, if she keeps bending forward with a rounded back like that, some day she might need to do these exercises to fix her back!]
I was doing a lot of yard work a couple months ago, shoveling and moving around a couple truckloads of mulch. I wasn’t paying too much attention and kept letting my lower back round as I lifted. After about a week of this, my back suddenly gave out!
Luckily, I found some relief. These lower back pain exercises from Eric Wong’s comprehensive lower back rehab program, Bulletproof Back, really helped me heal my back. See how they work for you.
This routine is pretty specific to injuries like disc herniations and bulging discs that result from repeatedly sitting or bending forward with a rounded lower back. While this is a common origin of back pain, there are other causes. So, don’t do this routine if you:
Hurt your back under a heavy load (for example, you were squatting a heavy weight and are pretty sure that you did some serious tissue damage)
Have a spondylolisthesis (don’t worry, if you have this you will probably know it)
Hurt your back in an extension movement (bending back)
Eric addresses solutions to these types of injuries in his program, but if you have one of these conditions, this particular set of exercises might do more harm than good. And as always, consult your physician to rule out other potential causes of lower back pain.
Why does my back hurt?
Before we get into the actual exercises, let’s look at the mechanics of this kind of lower back pain. Why does your back hurt?
When you bend forward, your vertebrae compress towards each other along the front of the spine. This puts pressure on the front of the discs, squeezing them towards the back of your spinal column.
Think of a tube of toothpaste. If you squeeze from the bottom of the tube, the toothpaste will be forced towards the tube’s opening.
Bending forward while rounding the spine, again and again, day after day, repeatedly squeezes the discs towards the back of the spine. The discs can eventually get injured, bulging out and pressing onto surrounding nerves.
When this happens, your back stiffens up. Your brain recognizes that a disc has been damaged. All the lower back muscles spasm, immobilizing the spine to prevent further injury.
Here is where these exercises come in. We first put the disc back into place by squeezing it in the other direction. Then we show the brain that all of the spine’s supporting and protecting muscles are functioning properly.
When the brain recognizes that everything is working ok, lower back spasms and pain begin to decrease, and you feel a whole lot better!
‘Damage Control’ Lower Back Routine:
MacKenzie Pressups – 10 reps
Hip extensions – 8 reps x 5 sec hold
Birddog – 4 reps x 10 sec hold
Side bridges – 5 reps x 10 sec hold on each side
Check out more details on these exercises:
MacKenzie Pressup
This exercise helps to put your discs back into place.
Lie down on your stomach, with your hands right underneath your shoulders. Breathing out and keeping your shoulder blades down and back, slowly push your chest up while keeping your hips on the floor, arching back.
The key is to try to make your spine long as you bend backwards. Don’t just tip your head back.
Keeping your shoulder blades down and back, lower yourself down slowly, breathing in.
Be gentle at first, only gradually increasing the range of motion. If this exercise hurts for the first few reps, see if the pain decreases as you finish the set of 10. If pain continues, consult your doctor.
Hip Extension
This exercise lets your brain know that your glutes are activated and stabilizing the spine.
Lying on the ground with your feet around shoulder width apart as shown, push through your heels and flex your butt, squeezing these muscles hard to push the hips up. Relaxing all your other muscles besides your glutes, and especially your lower back muscles, hold the flex with your hips up for 4 seconds.
Lower back down under control.
Do this 8 times.
Remember to squeeze the glutes as hard as you can.This informs your body that there is stability in the lumbar (lower back) region, that there is no more need for the pain and stiffness of lower back spasms. The lower back can then relax.
Bird Dogs
Here Craig Ballantyne from Turbulence Training shows how to do several exercises, including the plank, side plank, and the bird dog.
Get down on all fours. Imagine that your hands and knees are in line with each other, each on 2×4 planks. Your hands should be right below your shoulders. Keep your back flat, in neutral spine position.
Lift one leg up slowly, straight up and back. Then lift the opposite arm up and straight out at a 45 degree angle to your body.
This angle is important, as it activates the lower trapezius, which is often dormant in people who sit a lot during the day with a slouched posture.
Keep your shoulders tucked down.
Hold for 10 seconds.
Repeat on the other side.
KEY POINT: When you lift your leg, don’t shift your hips to the side. Keep your hips right in the center, keeping your back level. Keep breathing naturally throughout the exercise.
This exercise activates the deep spinal muscles called the multifidus and transverse abdominus, which are key to the stabilization of each vertebrae. Activate these muscles and the brain will stop telling the lower back to spasm, since these important core muscles are doing their jobs.
Side Bridge/Side Plank
Lie on your side with feet on top of one another or with one foot in front of the other. Keep your elbow underneath your shoulder and your hand on your side.
Bridge your hips up, making sure that your shins come off the ground.
Keep your body straight, making sure that you are not bent forward at the waist.
If you are unfamiliar with this exercise, do it a few times with your back up against a wall to make sure you are aligned properly.
Hold for 10 seconds, breathing naturally. Repeat for 5 repetitions on each side.
This exercise works the side abdominal muscles called the obliques and quadratus lomborum.
Afterwords
Stand up and walk around for a bit, keeping your body in good posture. Now that you have done these exercises, your body knows that everything is working as it should and that back spasms are no longer necessary.
With luck, these lower back pain exercises will quickly help you get better and feel better.
How Often
Eric recommends doing this routine 2-3 times per day after you throw your back out. He also suggests doing these exercises daily to prevent injuries.
Good luck!
-Ian
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-Ian
[Here in coastal California, the sky gets looks pretty amazing after a storm passes through. This was taken after a recent storm in Santa Monica. photo by gtall1]
[My set looks similar to this, except the weights are completely rusted, looking more like red Georgia mud than the shiny 'space age' silver you see here]
